Fried chicken wings
These chicken wings cooked in a Ninja Air Fryer are so beautiful.
Chicken wings are almost universally loved and are a very popular item that can be blown up. The target of the bomb wing is crispy on the outside and juicy skin on the inside. To test the air frying ability of each oven, I cooked three freezer wings in the air frying mode of 450 f for 30 minutes, turning them every 10 minutes. I let each oven be fully preheated and then put the wings in and then shoot immediately after pulling them out. Naturally, I tasted them too when they were cool enough to eat.
Success here depends on the high heat of the hot air and good fan circulation, which means faster cooking. The faster the air fryer chef is, the more effective the super convection is, and the external skin becomes crisper, making the chicken less likely to dry inside.
Ninja Foodi oven won the Great Wing War with its feathers and won the distinctive wings with its crispest wings after 30 minutes. They also have a lot of juice inside, without a really visible burn. Cuisinart also nailed the wing test, but I actually had to pull them in about 25 minutes since they were done. They even had some burning skin, but not enough to bother me. Breville and Crux also performed well on good brown and crispy skin, while KitchenAid finished sixth and Calphalon seventh, not enough brown or crispy to get my taste.
Fried French fries French fries
Ninja and Breville cook the fries to the fastest golden color without burning.
The second air fryer test is designed to shed light on the purity and speed of the air frying function of a single oven, but also cook evenly. I put a handful of frozen fries (McDonald's style) in the air at 450 f and timed everyone to win the golden brown we all crave. As fast cooking and convenience are key features of countertop fried ovens, faster equals faster. All oven themes (except Cuisinart) ended up reaching the desired flavor, but some performed the task faster than others.
Breville won the pancake test with perfect golden fries in six minutes. I set the ninja to a slightly lower temperature (390 f) according to the manual and within eight minutes I had the perfect fries (second place is very close, if I set it to 450 F it will most likely win or bundle). KitchenAid also took eight minutes on the 450 F, while the key took nine minutes to get there, while Calphalon took 12 points. Cuisinart is actually the fastest for just three minutes, but it burns the edges of the fries without cooking evenly. At this point, I began to suspect that Cuisinart has an unusually strong air fryer function, for better or worse.
Grilled salmon
Breville and Ninja are the only ovens that give any type of crust after four minutes.
To test the broiler, I brushed a 4-ounce salmon fillet with a mixture of mustard, olive oil and brown sugar. Once the oven arrived preheated, I stole the salmon from under the broiler about 2 inches on the top and left it there for four minutes before taking it out of the oven for a photo.
The key I'm looking for here is that each broiler imported caramel shells on top of the fish. Some ovens, such as Calphalon and Cuisinart, show little signs of browning, while Ninja and Breville provide a nice start to color and a good shell. I think they will share the blue ribbon for this test. Both KitchenAid and Crux show some browning, putting them in third and fourth place.
Ordinary old toast
Calphalon and Ninja both made very nice toasts to match their medium presets, but Ninja (pictured) did it in half the time.
This test is to know the accuracy of the toaster preset for a specific oven and how quickly it can toast. I paste a slice of bread in each toaster and place it in medium condition. I didn't take this test as much as other tests because in fact, any of these ovens will get you to the toast you need, it may take more (or less) time (or less), some tinkering or learning presets to get it the way you want it to.
Each cooking time preset for the “Medium” on each oven varies greatly, ranging from over six minutes to only three and a half Ninja. In fact, these two produce the most occasional and attractive toast corresponding to the preset, but the Ninja (winner) does it in half the time. Breville, KitchenAid and Crux are almost completely out of toast, which just means you have to use a darker environment – while Cuisinart is more than bread.
Bake cookies
Ninja and Breville tied for the cookie match, and both ovens were almost perfect.
Next, I wanted to see how accurate and consistent the temperature was achieved and kept in each oven, and baking cookies was the perfect test for this. I put a tablespoon of spherical tablespoon cookie dough on the parchment paper and glued it to each oven on the middle oven rack for a recommended time and temporary time (350 F lasts for 10 minutes).
Cookie Race is a photo completion between Ninja and Breville, both of which have achieved almost perfect results. Cuisinart Cookies are as overpacked (although only slightly) as Crux, while KitchenAid Cookies are a bit unbaked.
Preheating test
Another big draw to use a countertop oven on a large oven is the speed of preheating. During the cookie baking period, I timed each oven and saw it hit 350F.
Ninja Foodi blows everyone else away, preheating to 350 F in a lightning 50 seconds. Most others practiced in about three and a half minutes, while the larger Breville took five minutes to make it temporary. I didn't do official tests on the Air Fryer Preeheat, but I did notice that Calphalon spent significantly longer on the Air Fry than 450 F.
Temperature accuracy and consistency testing
This is one of the low-key features for any oven, especially if you plan to do some light baking in it. If the oven doesn't maintain accurate and consistent temperatures, it makes the following recipes even harder, and you'll always adjust and hawkeye food to make sure it doesn't burn. I read the internal temperature of the oven while baking at 350 F for 10 minutes. I was able to get an average temperature reading during baking, but I could also watch the thermometer in real time to see how much fluctuations occurred during Cook.
KitchenAid won the test, with an average reading of 350 F on the nose and barely fluctuating. Ninja (average temperature is 343 f), Cuisinart (346 F) and Breville (345 F) also did a great job, although Breville started to be very hot and then came back. The finishing points for the two last digits are key, running fever (365 F) and Calpahlon (337 F). The two are also the most inconsistent in the entire baking.
Cleanliness and care
The smart design feature allows you to get straight into the ninja oven and give it a nice cleaning.
There is nothing particularly unusual about caring for or cleaning these ovens and their heating elements except Ninjas (more in a second). They have standard box interiors in various sizes made of stainless steel, requiring regular matte and wipes. Each oven has a removable dishwasher-safe bread crumb tray that captures poured fries and toast.
Now back to Ninja. Due to the compact interior, this oven is definitely more prone to splashing and staining, especially when making foods with fat and grease (such as wings). Thankfully, there is a smart design feature that allows the entire bottom layer of the Ninja oven to fold up, so you can put it in it with a rag or a Brillo Pad and wipe it off. I believe ninjas need more frequent cleaning than other ninjas. If this is not something you are diligent, it is definitely something to consider.
